Disclaimer: I do not own HP, only this fanfic story, artwork and OCs.

Chapter 1

~oOo~

12 Grimmauld Place, 2nd November 1959

Marius shows his first signs of magic several days before his second birthday. His father Orion Black is helping his very pregnant mother Walburga settle into an armchair. Marius doesn't particularly understand why there is a rather enormous protrusion on his mother's stomach, only that it means she requires as much attention as he does.

His aunt from his father's side Lucretia visits often to help care for him, as Walburga and Orion are highly paranoid about letting a nanny not related by blood anywhere near their beloved son. Walburga's brother Alphard also visits, though he and Lucretia despise each other greatly and coordinate their visits to avoid one another as much as possible.

Marius likes his aunt because she always makes sure that his clothes have no labels to upset the skin, is never hungry and reminds him of his mother; however his uncle is much funner out of the two. With Uncle Alphard, Marius is encouraged to run around like crazy. They often play games and he particularly likes it when Uncle Alphard holds him by the belly and runs around so that it feels like he's flying. Sometimes, and Marius is observant enough to notice that it's only when no one else is watching them, Uncle Alphard will wave his stick that all the adults seem to have and he'll actually start floating above the ground on his own.

Today, Aunt Lucretia is here, sitting with him on a larger couch. She's reading a book to Marius about all the types of potions you can make. Naturally, each page has a beautifully illustrated picture of the potion and its affects, and all the sentences rhyme. Many of the words Marius has heard before, though he can't remember what some mean. His parents aren't too worried about the fact that he has never spoken, as it's clear that he understands the written word at a more advanced level than other children his age. They proudly take this as a sign that Marius will be an intellectual.

Aunt Lucretia has read this particular book to her nephew many, many times before. She suspects it's because of the rich colours of the pictures, however he does seem fixated on the Pepper Up potion page. Here the picture shows a pear shaped glass stoppered with a large cork, the mint green concoction sloshing around inside. Everytime Lucretia finishes the page, she asks if Marius wants it to be read again, and he always nods rapidly. However the next time she asks, Marius is too fixated on the picture to pay attention.

He does however notice when the page is turned without his permission. His usually cherub like features twist into as much rage a baby can muster. With a sudden crackle of his untrained magic, there is a fantastic flash of white as Aunt Lucretia is shocked (quite literally). Orion flings his bulk in front of Walburga who shrieks and covers her belly. The flash fizzes out as soon as it came, and reveals Lucretia's dark locks straight and vertical to her body, as well as her dazed and confused eyes. Marius sits innocently with the book in his grasp with a surprised yet smug expression.

They later find out that he has also formed a sticking charm to the page, so that it is stuck at the Pepper Up potion picture.

However this is not discovered till later, for the shock of the incident forces Walburga into an early labour. The next day after a labour only slightly easier than the previous one, Marius is gifted with a younger brother, one Sirius Orion Black.

~oOo~

1961

By the age of 4, Marius is possibly the most spoiled and privileged child in existence. Naturally, this does not stop his relatives from doting on him, even with his father's stoic nature. Marius's body grows alongside his curiosity and magpie tendencies. Not only does he regularly leave messes in purposely easy to trip areas and coat all the door handles with stick substances (the favourite being jam), Marius has taken up the habit of doing whatever is necessary to acquire a wand. Previous ownership is disregarded. Uncle Alphard had become increasingly unpopular with the other adults, as he blamed for this.

However Marius (other than a scolding) is treasured for this, after taking to levitating wands out of pockets. His parents take this as a sign that he will be adept at wandless magic, and are further encouraged about the success of their gene pool when a year old Sirius starts to blabber.

Marius has learnt a lot in his 4 years on earth. The main points are thus:

First of all, everything is bigger than him (even Kretcher).

Second of all, he has to be sneaky if he wants to do something fun, because that usually involves his Uncle Alphard, which means that he's not allowed to do said fun thing. That in turn means that whenever he and his Uncle are doing aforementioned said fun thing, they have to do so outside of scrutiny. Kretcher is a known blabbermouth, as are the portraits of the house.

Third of all, his mother is always pregnant. This time, Walburga is less emotional, and spends more time with Marius and his brother. However he still spends a lot of time with his aunt and uncle, even if they still do hate each other.

Marius still hasn't spoken a word. He's reading books on his own now, yet even that hasn't stopped his parents from worrying. Eventually, they make an appointment with a specialist from St Mungo's. 30 minutes into their meeting, Walburga's water breaks. Sirius and Marius end up with another brother, this time called Regulus Arcturus Black. Marius doubts that if there are any other siblings he'll bother remembering their names.

~oOo~

1963

When Marius is almost 6, Uncle Alphard sneaks him away to the gardens while the family is holidaying in their home in southwest Germany. It sits on top of a snowy mountain at the peak of the forest, its design like that of the infamous Neuschwanstein Castle, with giant white towers and slate turrets and decorated with creamy golds and egg blues. There is a small isolated lake on the property, several fountains and the gardens are known for the exquisite fruit trees.

Alphard at the very least has the sense not to let 4 year old Sirius and 2 year old Regulus near an adult broom, yet Marius convinces (with little effort) him to carry him on his uncle's broom.

The broomstick is a sleek, beautiful object, every twig in its tail trimmed to perfection. Uncle Alphard sits Marius in between his own legs, teaches him how to form a strong grip with both hands and shoots into the air with a youthful cheer.

It's the first time Marius feels the powerful force of the intense frozen air at such an altitude, and the first time he experiences strong fear. The world seems so far below, and yet it whips all around them. He can feel the warm laughs of his Uncle at his back, even as he is terrified that they will fall because they are soon very, very high. Marius wants to scream to be put back on the ground, and yet he hopes this moment will never end. The colours of this world are bright, chilling and fierce, and he never wants to let it go again.

Eventually, they do return to the ground. Bad luck has it that Lucretia has seen them flying as she happened to pass the window while they are making their descent, and Orion and Walburga's fury is to be reckoned with.

Marius knows that his mother often screams and shouts for reasons he never thinks are a very big deal, though to him it always passes over like white noise. Sirius hates it and will throw tantrums until Walburga calms down enough to rock him, while Regulus sort of fearfully sniffles then falls asleep again. Walburga is usually the one who lovingly berates Alphard, talking other relatives out of strangling him daily. Yet this time Alphard has the good sense to quite literally run out of the front door when his sister finds out about this. He misses a flurry of purple curses that incinerate the door (Orion repairs that with his own wand later) and doesn't dare show his face for several months. When he does, Walburga throws a vase at him, but by the end of the week he is partially forgiven.

~oOo~

1963

Marius speaks for the first time moments after Regulus does. It is breakfast after returning from Germany, and as always the family are eating together. Walburga is instructing Kretcher to deliver a package to the Malfoys (a gift for Bellatrix Black for being sorted into Slytherin), while Lucretia is watching Sirius and feeding Regulus at the same time. Orion sits elegantly against his chair, legs crossed and reading the Daily Prophet. Marius sits opposite in a mirror position, though he is holding a book of his own.

Regulus grins brightly, deciding that he likes whatever his aunt is feeding him. He claps his hands and demands "More! More!"

Walburga and Lucretia gasp and immediately coddle Regulus with praise, while Orion smirks proudly and pats Regulus's head, then Sirius's after he too begins to squeal for attention.

Marius's eyes narrow. This is the second time he has been surpassed by a younger sibling, and it's starting to get old. When he is asked if he wants any more food, Marius smartly snaps his book closed and says "No." He swiftly leaves the room with an almighty pout (he thinks it's more of a sneer) with the adults staring after him in wide eyed surprise.

~oOo~

1965

After that, his family are granted the gift of Marius's voice. He turns out to be greatly mimicking his father in tone, but his uncle in opinion, which results in a rather dry humour that puts Walburga at her wits end. She decides that she must get rid of this awful habit before Marius goes to school, starting with banning Alphard for another few months from visiting. This doesn't stop their written correspondence, though it is still largely in secret.

Orion is content to converse with Marius on any topic he chooses. With supervision, Orion begins to show his eldest the darker areas of the library (though the dangerous possessions of the Blacks only harm those struck from or outside of the family), and is happy to discover that Marius has a keen interest in every book he finds, particularly those on the Black family history and magical objects. He still guards his childhood book on potions fiercely (Sirius and Regulus never were able to read it) and likes to draw magical creatures from his other picture books. Walburga is convinced that he is the next Merlin of art (though of course he would never be allowed to pursue such a frivolous profession full time).

While wizarding children are meant to get their wands when they turn 11, many pureblood families scoff and disregard these rules. Orion has decided to wait till the age of nine for each of his children, and to only let them use them under the eye of himself or his wife. However for Marius his father gives in at the age of 8 when he begins to not only steal wands but actually recreate spells he has seen or read about. Orion decides that he might as well do it properly and safely if it is going to degenerate into such a hazardous sport.

Most Blacks either went to Olivanders or had them specially made, though the latter is less common. However Walburga comes to the conclusion that for a brilliant child like Marius, the wand would have to be just as brilliant.

An ashen and cloaked man one day visits the Black home and is introduced to Marius, who realises that this Mr Gallow is a vampire, and a senior one at that. Gallow dedicated most of his life to neck draining and wand making, though his nefarious ways limits his customers to the darker pureblood families. While closely watched, his professional control of his thirst is such that Marius is quite safe as a client. Gallow has produced wands for Walburga's father and his father, and is a master in his craft. His wands are far more potent and perfectly tailored for each witch or wizard, and Gallow has a bitter attitude about the commercial Olivander.

When he meets Marius, they shake hands. Marius is transfixed by Mr Gallow's red calculating eyes that seem to see everything, and his fine papery skin. He feels as if he is being analysed, which in truth he is. Gallows proceeds to measure his wand arm (right), the length, dexterity and width of his fingers and finally pricks Marius's palm so fast he doesn't even have a chance to protest, collecting the blood in several thin vials of glass. Orion does not say anything when this happens, so Marius also remains calm.

Gallows leaves, and several long weeks later he returns with a proud swoosh in his step, glowing with as much excitement as Marius is.

"Master Black, I present to you your wand." He says with a flourish, bowing in the presence of the entire family (even Uncle Cygnus is visiting). Gallows presents a very long black leather box that reflects the lights around it. There is an ornate gold clasp, and Marius darts forward to open it with shivering fingers. He doesn't understand it, but there's something in that box that is calling to him, and he feels ill the longer he's without it. He flicks away the folded rich blue velvet to find his prized wand, and with a reverence Marius didn't previously believe anything was deserving of, picks up his wand.

There's a crackle and a hissing spit that follows, and familiar white shreds of electricity snap at the air around him, like an angry snake slapping his tail down. This time however they look like they're spelling out some sort of archaic language. He can feel his chest moving rapidly to breath, and vaguely hears Sirius whining about favouritism while everybody else is rapidly uttering praises. Marius's eyes are watering, and yet he can't take his hands off his prize, or his eyes off the humming glow of magenta around it.

It's only when Gallow swoops in next to him that he breaks back into the room. The vampire is practically cackling, a long stream of praises for himself and Marius spewing out. Marius thinks that he's most likely like this for every unveiling he does, but Gallow quickly explains that this is not the case. With the dramatics of a thespian, he tells them that Marius is special, and that Gallow had to do a lot of sneaky (and most likely illegal) work to make this wand. Gallow is certain that Marius will become great, and wants to be remembered for his role in his magical awakening.

As Gallow announces this to the Blacks, Marius continues to stare fixedly at his wand, not even aware of the watchful gazes Cygnus and his father are giving him.

Marius's wand turns out to be quite a mix of fairly volatile materials. It turns out that his father had previous visited Gallow to ensure that it was safe to use (apparently vampires were fairly robust for testing new wand recipes). Walburga is mainly thrilled that the wand is very long, as this apparently means that Marius will grow up to be tall and handsome (Gallow wisely doesn't disagree). The core is what is so illegal. Unlike the three wand cores Olivander limits himself to, Gallow believes that even the most dangerous core can be used for an individual, as long as it is a perfect match. The wood merely houses a kindred heart for the wizard.

Marius's wand has a mixed core, with acromantula web wrapped in coiled chimera scale fragments. Acromantula web, Gallow explains, was made illegal in the 1700s after it was proved to enhance black magic (particularly the imperius curse), however the thick scales would easily obscure their magical signature unless an expert were to study the wand over several days (Marius took this as a reminder to avoid openly breaking the law). Chimera scales were in fact harder to obtain that basilisk venom and skin, the creatures only seen rarely in the Mediterranean. Gallows tells the raptured Blacks that he inherited his own personal stock for very rare wands from his father several hundred years ago. Technically this means that the scales are legal, but most think they are too powerful to be used in wands without a sort of buffer.

Finally, the twin core is encased in African ebony wood, forming an impressive creation. 15 inches, rigid. The black wand seems to have undertones of red, blue and green, like iridescent bird feathers. There's a maze of carvings, cutting smoothly into the grip. The end facing his palm is a snarling dragon's head, glorious and deadly, while its tail tapers into the tip of the wand. On its flanks are smaller serpents and its coiled up wings.

Orion and Walburga are pleased to say the least. As a whole, their family supports the Dark Lord and his rising, and so they are relieved that their heir is showing an aptitude in the dark arts. Not only is core made for strong magic, but the designs clearly depict reptiles - a sure sign of a future Slytherin.

~oOo~

1965

The first time Orion tries to take away Marius's wand, he practically growls at him, backing up and clutching it to his chest. He's never felt so hostile before. There's something so intoxicating about his wand, like water to a man in the desert. Orion, after pausing briefly, narrows his eyes and reminds his son sternly of their deal.

"Bonding with your wand is important, Marius. But I won't let you carry it around all the time without knowing what you're doing."

"Then teach me." Marius demands, his voice quivering and body tensed to bolt. He's lucky that he's Orion's son, because anybody else using such a tone with him would be struck down painfully.

Orion purses his lips, and conjures up his little empathy. "Very well. When you can complete the basics, I'll let you keep your wand."

They don't start with any ministry approved books, but with what Orion deems are the most commonly used spells for day to day life. At first, it takes hours for Marius to even get the wand movements correct; his wand is extremely long and unyielding to say the least. It remains an inanimate object for at least a week after their first lesson, as if taunting Marius to prove his worth. Finally, in a desperate call, Marius thinks hard at the wand. 'Listen to me. You are mine, as much as I am your master. Do you really want to waste away doing nothing? Or will you actually make an effort so we can learn something?'

Marius huffs dejectedly when nothing happens, but this somehow must have made a difference, because by the end of the day, he can produce a beam of red sparks at will.

Progress is swift after this.